Bills: Dareus steps up

Bills: Dareus steps up

Whether playing as a defensive tackle in a four-man front, or at end or nose in a three-man front, Kyle Williams has been one of the best in football for the majority of his career. This season has been no different. Williams’ +12.0overall grade is third-best among all DTs, his 9.8 Run Stop Percentage ranks seventh-best, and three sacks and 17 total pressures have him ranked #1 among DTs in Pass Rushing Productivity .

A knee injury however, forced him out of the Week 4 game against the Chargers and caused him to miss last week versus the Lions. In Williams’ absence, the team turned to the other starting tackle, Marcel Dareus, to provide that disruptive interior presence, a job he performed with aplomb. His three sacks and a 9.9 Pass Rushing Productivity grade was second best among qualifying DTs in Week 5.

It’s not as though Dareus had been struggling prior to that – his +9.6overall grade ranks seventh-best among defensive tackles -but he had primarily excelled against the run (10 solo stops and a 12.2 Run Stop Percentage).

With Williams is expected to return this week, the Patriots have to be concerned about facing one of the top DT tandems in the league.